Trumpet horns stopped working today

[Cliffm]

Today, having to deal with some very dense fog, the captain and I used our 2006 Carver 36MY horns more times, then all of the past year.

The third sounding, failed to make any noise. We were short on time returning our guests back home, so we'll have to revisit an evaluate. First, verify we have power to the switch, then power to the horns, then...?I

Anyone have their horns fail like this? I'm assuming 14yrs is a good run, so what is the best value/performance for another 14yrs?

Suggestions appreciated

Cliff & Beth Mathison
The Condo
Renton Wa

[buster53]

Are they electric or air horns? My air horns didn't work when I bought my boat and I had to replace the air compressor...horns were fine.

[Cliffm]

Sorry i didn't clarify, they are the OEM 12v electric units.

I don't know what the OEM brand is?

[buster53]

Ok, let's be sure...both need 12v to operate. I guess electric are like car horns...no air compressor needed.

[Midnightsun]

You should have a breaker which is the first thing to check. Most horns can be disassembled and cleaned/fixed however I question if it is worth it. A new set of horns can be found on Amazon for $100 or less. If you want the ultimate then see here. viewtopic.php?f=13&t=5278&hilit=kahlenberg

[Cliffm]

Qr Bbpost You should have a breaker which is the first thing to check. Most horns can be disassembled and cleaned/fixed however I question if it is worth it. A new set of horns can be found on Amazon for $100 or less. If you want the ultimate then see here. viewtopic.php?f=13&t=5278&hilit=kahlenberg

We checked the breaker, flipped it off/on several times, re-trying horns, no luck.

Going to the boat today to verify power at switch, then power at horn connection. But if I have to remove to service, then replacement is high in the list.

Looking for a good 12v replacement suggestions, that last more than a year or two, since the oem seemed to last 14yrs.

[buster53]

If you want to be heard, get air horns

[km1125]

Definitely look for connections along the way too, especially just behind wherever the horns are mounted. If the crimps are bad or they have some bullet connectors, it's possible the high current draw while they were being used caused those connections to fail.

That's another reason to have a hailer on the boat. Most can operate as horns too, so they're a backup. Plus, most have an auto-fog-horn setting which will blast the hailer every minute, taking a task away from the Captain. Some VHF radios also have this function if they have a hailer option (like the old Raymarine 202)

[Cliffm]

So.... Plot thickens! Pulled under dash panel to access backside of horn mount wiring, looked good, so I removed dash panel to access horn rocker switch which turned out to be a relay switch. so I tried it and horn blew?

So, the $100 question. Is my "old" Marcinco AFI trumpet horns being temperamental/going bad... or is the horn "relay" rocker switch going bad when used "allott"?

Any EE's having insight to my dilemma?

[Cliffm]

Qr Bbpost Definitely look for connections along the way too, especially just behind wherever the horns are mounted. If the crimps are bad or they have some bullet connectors, it's possible the high current draw while they were being used caused those connections to fail.

That's another reason to have a hailer on the boat. Most can operate as horns too, so they're a backup. Plus, most have an auto-fog-horn setting which will blast the hailer every minute, taking a task away from the Captain. Some VHF radios also have this function if they have a hailer option (like the old Raymarine 202)

Thanks, we did/do have a back-up hailer, (2) compressed gas units and a Fox40 whistle.